"I need to choose a pet name for you. Any ideas?" Peeta snickered at his girlfriend's reaction to his question, an all too familiar scowl sliding into place across her gorgeous features. He knew all-too-well how much she hated nicknames. But teasing Katniss Everdeen had been his favourite pastime since high school.

"I need a pet name just about as much as you need a kick in the ass, Peeta," she grunted, rolling away from him. It was a quiet Sunday morning and they'd been basking in post-orgasmic bliss before his impudent question. But he just laughed, reaching for her again, pulling her into the warmth of his arms. She melted into his embrace. He was a master at pushing her buttons in every way, and she could seldom manage to be angry or upset with him for more than a moment.

"Just think about it," he murmured into her hair as his fingers traced designs along the curve of her spine. "It was cute when Rye called Leevy 'Sweetpea' last night."

"It wasn't cute," she groaned. "It was excruciating." They'd met Peeta's brother's new girlfriend the previous evening, and Peeta had been enchanted by how lovey-dovey they were with each other. Katniss, however, had just been uncomfortable with the blatant PDA.

"Clove calls Cato, 'Loverboy'…"

"In your dreams," she snickered.

"Sweetheart?"

"No."

"Darling?"

"No, Peeta. Stop."

"I heard Aunt Effie calling Haymitch 'Sugar Lips'," he laughed.

"No… wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah," he laughed, and she joined in. Effie and their crusty old neighbour Haymitch. Who'd have guessed? "How about 'Muffin'?"

"I knew you'd get around to the bakery puns eventually," she groaned. "No."

"Finnick calls Annie 'Babycakes'…"

"I'd rip off your balls and feed them to you," she grumbled. He shook with laughter, squeezing her more tightly, and she couldn't resist joining in.

As their mirth faded away he kissed her softly, a promise of more. "I love you," he sighed, and she smiled. "But there is one thing I'd really like to call you, Katniss," he said, eyes twinkling. She rolled her own eyes, but then her breath caught as she watched him pull from beneath his pillow a small black velvet box.

"Peeta?" she whispered.

"I'd really like to call you 'wife'," he breathed. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as he slid a simple diamond solitaire onto her slender finger, then kissed her tenderly.

She sighed her reply against his lips. "I'll allow it."